A’s Sonny Gray shut down with lat strain, will miss Opening Night

MESA, AZ - FEBRUARY 22: Pitcher Sonny Gray #54 of the Oakland Athletics poses for a portrait during photo day at HoHoKam Stadium on February 22, 2017 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

MESA, AZ - FEBRUARY 22: Pitcher Sonny Gray #54 of the Oakland...

MESA, Ariz. — Sonny Gray, coming off the worst year of his career, won’t get a chance to get off to the kind of start he’d hoped to this season. He’ll be on the disabled list on Opening Night.

“You feel for him, first of all,” catcher Stephen Vogt said. “This is a kid who had a rough year injury-wise and who worked really hard to get healthy to get ready for this season — and he was. To see him go down this early in the spring and miss him at least the first month of the season, that’s a big hit when you lose your ace.”

Gray, 27, felt the injury after his most recent start Tuesday, but did not believe it to be major and was surprised by the MRI exam results, according to Melvin. “This got him a little bit,” Melvin said. “He wasn’t expecting to hear what he heard yesterday; he wasn’t expecting it to be a big deal.”

Gray was not available to speak with the media Thursday.

“Assuming they nipped it in the bud, it’s better to happen now and hopefully he can put it behind him and be the guy we want him to be and need him to be,” second baseman Jed Lowrie said.

Gray had two injuries in 2016, and “this is very disappointing for him,” Melvin said of Gray’s latest injury. “He came to camp ready to go, worked as hard as he’s every worked, was very positive. … The stuff was really good. … This is another setback. He’s going to have to deal with it, as are we, unfortunately.”

With Gray unable to go Opening Night, Kendall Graveman is likely to get the start against the Angels at the Coliseum, with Sean Manaea moving into the second spot in the rotation and Jharel Cotton moving into the third spot. Jesse Hahn and Andrew Triggs appear to be strong rotation candidates the first month of the season.

“This makes it a little more competitive now for the last couple of spots,” Melvin said.

Melvin noted that the A’s have a great deal of starting-pitching depth, mentioning Raul Alcantara and Daniel Gossett as others who will get looks for the spot. In addition, lefty Ross Detwiler, who made seven starts for Oakland last season, is in camp as a minor-league free agent, and hard-throwing Frankie Montas, acquired in the Rich Hill-Josh Reddick deal with the Dodgers on Aug. 1, is being groomed to start or throw multiple innings in relief.

“You don’t expect to get tested like this right away,” Melvin said. “We had to deal with it last year as much as I’ve seen; our organization is really on the cutting edge of depth. But this early in the spring, it’s tough to deal with especially when it’s your No. 1 guy.”

Gray missed 15 days with a trapezius strain in May, then missed nearly two months at the end of the season with a right forearm strain. He came back to work one inning Sept. 28. He was 5-11 with a 5.69 ERA after going 33-20 with a 2.88 ERA over his first 76 major-league appearances.